With Avengers: Endgame just around the corner, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will expand to include twenty two feature films. That’s a lot of storytelling, and a lot of characters. Can you name them all? Do you remember who Agent 13 is? What about Ross? Dr. Palmer?

Sure we all know who Iron Man is, we can recognize Thor with long and short hair, and we know Star Lord’s real name, but there are a lot more characters inhabiting the MCU than that.

Adam Bray’s new encyclopedia, available from DK Canada, dedicated solely to characters depicted in the MCU can help us familiarize yourself with all the players before you settle in for the three hour film fest that is going to be Endgame.

Each pages of this book is dedicated to a character that has graced the screen and paved the way towards the inevitable climax that is going to get fans into seats all over the glove. Filled with Bray’s wry humor, the character breakdowns include a data file on each characters affiliation, strengths, and what films they appear in.

The character breakdown also includes a brief bio, as well as high points, or important facts that need to be remembered, as they affect the character and decisions they make. Filled with hundreds of pictures, the book is easily perused, is a handy reference piece and bundles the excitement of the MCU in an easily portable tome.

If I may be so bold, I think the only thing missing in the book is an indication of whether the character was dusted during The Snap. I see, in my mind’s eye, little grey transparencies overlaying the pages of some character, with the Endgame tagline, Avenge the Fallen printed across them.

Just a thought. Well, that, and a special Stan Lee page with a list of all his cameos and appearances in the series. But beyond that, this, like all of DK Books’ as well as Bray’s, is informative, colorful, easily accessible, and just fun.

I look forward to the day when DK gives us a massive tome on the making of the MCU, all the ins and outs of it, and more, but each volume of their continuing Marvel collection is a prize in and of itself, and a suitable read for fans of all ages. The book, much like the films, is meant to appeal to the superhero loving fan that seems to reside in most of us, as we remember our own childhood, leaping from couches and beds, with a towel tied around our neck fluttering behind us like a cape.

Just leafing through these pages, you get a sense of the accomplishment of what Marvel Studios has done with the MCU, and though part of it may be coming to a close with Endgame, I believe there is so much more to come.

Marvel Studios Character Encyclopedia is available from DK Books, pick one up for the fan in your life today!